


Only An Echo

by AngstOfDestiny



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic, Erwin's slightly better, F/F, Fluff and Angst, High School, Historia has them both wrapped around her finger, Horror, Kinda, Levi's bad at parenting, M/M, No Smut, Sorry guys, Supernatural Elements, WTF are we doing?, and we try humour too, plot heavy, so there are ghosts in it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-09-19 23:37:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9465671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstOfDestiny/pseuds/AngstOfDestiny
Summary: There is a space between worlds from which crawl echoes long trapped and forgotten. Usually they are harmless, but Ymir has the bad luck of being followed by them wherever she goes. She's managed to handle herself so far, but after meeting the parents of the girl she wants to woo, the equilibrium she's been trying to maintain is disrupted. Permanently.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Pants: This started out as a joke. I swear this was all a joke.
> 
> Terry: Well, and we apparently don't have enough unfinished projects. So. Here you have. 
> 
> We're not promising anything and don't expect much. 
> 
> (As for the technical notes: it will be balanced between eruri and yumikuri, so neither of the pairings is the "main" one. Though don't expect much of the old geezers. They're dumb gay dads, so no fiery romance.)

Reality broke like a crack forming in amber. It was a force akin to gravity that ripped at its seams and let that which had been trapped begin to wriggle free. It had been frozen a long time, caught between ‘now’ and ‘then’. Crawling and fighting against the jagged tear, it followed the pull of that force and fell down into the world it had tried so hard to stay a part of.

Whatever it had once been was gone. All that was left was hunger, and the allure of that force was irresistible. Through patches of shadowed leaves and fragments of streetlight, it stalked the figure that had set it free.

A young woman — a girl — with slouched shoulders and a hand in her pocket. Her long legs ate up the distance as she strode down the sidewalk while staring at a glowing map in her hand. Every so often, she’d pause and squint at the screen before starting up again.

It hung around her, flitting through the gaps and spaces. Whenever it drew too close, the girl’s nostrils would flare and she’d pick up the pace. It was confused by this, because the force attracted it also repelled, a confusing blend of signals that was enough to make any creature go a little mad. The other people that walked the streets weren’t like this. Only her.

The girl finally found the place she was looking for, walking past a crowd of parked vehicles and up the driveway to the front door of a large house full of light and sound. Though it starved for these things, it also feared the strength of them.

As the girl rang the doorbell, it hovered near the wall and gateway, just beyond the reach of the porch-light. It would wait, and it would see.

It was so very, _very_ hungry.

###

The doorbell chimed, and Levi gratefully excused himself from a conversation he’d been having with some of the co-workers Erwin had invited. Just because he could stand that kind of talk from his husband, didn’t mean he could take an entire group of people getting excited about something like ‘the implications of ancient stone tools found in Chile’. It was just a bunch of old rocks. Nothing to get excited about the way they did.

As Levi approached the door, he began to feel unease cutting through his irritation. The warm chatter seemed to fade, replaced by a cool nothingness. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw the main hall was empty. All was as it should be. Yet when he turned his attention from the direction of the backyard toward the front door, that eerie feeling returned.

He shook his head, and then turned the handle as another blast from the doorbell sang through the house. The impatient visitor on the other side was a lanky, freckled girl whose entire appearance declared ‘scruffy’. It was in her hair messily pulled back in a ponytail, to the ill-fitting boots and cargo pants below her faded t-shirt.

“Uh…hi Mr…Mr…?” She said when all Levi did was examine her. “I’m Ymir. Historia invited me. Sorry I’m late. Just had to finish my shift and…yup.”

So that was _Ymir_ — the friend with the weird name his daughter had gone on and on about. Based on what he saw, he wasn’t impressed. Levi scrunched his nose in disgust as he noticed the mud on her boots. “The fence is unlocked. You can go around back that way. If you need to come inside to use the bathroom or something, you better take those off first.”

Ymir glanced down and tilted her sole up to see. After a moment she said, “Okay, Mr. Ackerman. I read you loud and clear.”

She headed in the direction he’d pointed, and Levi felt another that chill dashing down his spine. Someone…someone was watching them. Though it was an old fear, he knew better than to ignore that feeling and his eyes darted out across the street.

There by the wall was someone. He squinted against the contrast of light. The shadowed silhouette was difficult to make out, but there was…wide green eyes and — and red. Lots and lots of red.

He was reaching for his phone and ready to call 911 when Ymir appeared back in the doorway. Levi was about to tell her to get the fuck out of the way when he noticed the person was gone. There wasn’t any trace of their having been there either. Not even a drop of blood, though he could have sworn…

“Hey, dude. Are you okay?” Ymir was looking down on him, not with concern but a sarcastic kind of exhaustion. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Levi blinked, staring again at where the silhouette had been. “A ghost? Really?”

“What? It’s just a figure of speech.” Ymir shrugged and then tried a grin. That disappeared in the face of Levi’s relentless displeasure. “Uh…it’s just you —”

“Get to the party and grab yourself a hamburger already,” Levi snapped harsher than he’d intended. Rather than apologize, he added, “And remember — no boots indoors.”

He turned back, almost slamming the door in the girl’s face before he caught himself. He might not be impressed with the brat, but surely he didn’t want to listen to his daughter whining that he’d scared off another friend of hers. Though, if his impression of the scruffy girl was right, she was hard to scare—there was something in her eyes that was reminiscent of his own reflection. He was pretty sure she didn’t give a fuck about moody parents. He didn’t when he was her age.

He crossed the house and went back to the porch, seating himself in a chair next to Erwin. His husband looked at him with that dumb, charming smile of his, offering him back his glass. The smile didn’t last long. It took Erwin only a second to notice something was amiss.

“Are you alright?” He asked quietly, his attention leaving the conversation and focusing entirely on Levi. “You look paler than usual.”

Levi scoffed quietly. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” He said with irritation. “I’m fine. Just tired, I think. I guess that shitty merger was more exhausting than I thought.” He took a deep sip of his wine and closed his eyes.

“Maybe you want to go upstairs?” Erwin put a hand on the nape of his neck and stroked his hair. “You don’t have to sit with us if you’re tired.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I finally get to spend some time with you and Historia. It’s a pity that Mike couldn’t make it, though.”

“Bored with listening to us talk about tools from Monte Verde?” Erwin teased, with a knowing glint in his eyes.

Levi just clicked his tongue in annoyance. “You know I am. But still I prefer that to idiots arguing over investments.” He sighed and his eyes softened for a moment. “I’ll take you talking nonsense over those shitheads any day.”

“Glad to hear that I’m still more attractive to you than your annoying co-workers.” Erwin smirked, turning his attention back to his colleagues.

Levi glanced across the garden to Historia and Ymir sitting by the pond and talking animatedly. He might have disliked that Ymir girl at first sight, but he couldn’t deny that seeing his daughter so full of joy made up for the displeasure of meeting her. She was gesticulating widely, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes shone brightly, which was a nice change from her usually rather reserved behaviour. Though he did wonder what his baby girl had in common with the punk brat. Even now the contrast was striking, with Historia in her favourite summer dress and Ymir slouching beside her in a tattered Dead Kennedys t-shirt.

Well, he suspected Erwin’s mother had wondered the same when she’d first meet him, so he probably shouldn’t be surprised. That didn’t mean, however, that Historia’s friend didn’t put him on edge. He would be the first to admit that he’d been a bad influence on Erwin when they were teenagers and he wasn’t entirely happy with history repeating itself.

Historia chose that moment to turn around and flash him a blinding smile. He sighed inwardly. He might not be happy, but _she_ was and that’s what was important. If Ymir made her smile like that… Well, he’d just have to deal with it. And maybe monitor their activities more closely.

“Levi,” one of Erwin’s co-workers turned to him, apparently intent on including him in the discussion. “Erwin told us that you’re something of a wine expert…”

Levi took a deep breath and looked at the woman with a forced smile, trying to follow their conversation, while watching the kids out the corner of his eye.

###

“I can’t believe he was so rude — well, I can, but geez!” Historia laughed. “Sorry, dad doesn’t really do good first impressions.”

“I’m guessing his second, and third ones aren’t so hot either?”

“Um… _well_.”

Ymir snickered and took a sip from her can of soda. She glanced around at the busy gathering — mostly old people — and the _wholesomeness_ of it all. Sure some of the guests seemed a little weird, but otherwise it could have been lifted from a commercial or Hallmark movie. That was the world Historia lived in. Ymir, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more uncomfortable. She felt like she could only exist in that place on borrowed time.

Leaning her elbows on her knees, she glanced up at the rim of the fence. On her way over, Ymir had felt one of them following her, but it had lagged behind at the wall. It was still there though, hovering on the edge, watching them. Eventually it would grow bolder than it had with Historia’s dad, and so Ymir had to leave before then. But first? First she wanted to be a little selfish.

“Hey, earth to Ymir. Did you come to stare at people, or talk to me?” Historia waved her hand in front of Ymir’s face.

It took a moment to come back, but by then Ymir was wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “You jealous? How about I stare at you instead?”

“Huh? Okay, weirdo.” Historia flushed slightly, but didn’t look away. “I was just saying I should introduce you to papa too. He said he was looking forward to meeting you.”

“…Is he as scary as the first one?”

An impish grin appeared on Historia’s lips as she stood and then pulled Ymir up after her. “Maybe? He’s a different kind of scary.”

“Great. I can’t fucking wait.”

It was easy to pick out dad number two; the one that had actually contributed biological material to their daughter. Blond, blue-eyed, attractive — the only difference being that Historia was a shrimp, and Mr. Smith was _tall_.

As Historia dragged her closer, Mr. Smith parted from the crowd, with Mr. Ackerman unfortunately coming with him. Ymir stiffened, realizing her hand was sweaty against Historia’s. But when she tried to pull away, Historia only squeezed tighter.

Though part of her wanted to escape — the entire visit was a giant bad idea — the rest of her was ready to follow Historia anywhere and damn the consequences. They’d only known each other a single school year, but that was more than enough time for Ymir to _fall_ — hopelessly and helplessly.

She continued to hold Historia’s hand, trying to smirk despite her nerves at the reaction that garnered from the two dads. One seemed pleased, and the other…he was definitely glaring. Put together, the two were a curious combination, though Ymir didn’t have much experience with parents, so for all she knew it could be normal… Nah. Never.

Mr. Smith was the textbook image of a father with his perfectly groomed hair, slacks and pink, polo t-shirt. But there was something about his gaze — as if he could see through you — that made Ymir uncomfortable. She could see what Historia meant by a different kind of scary. Mr. Ackerman on the other hand? He might have been cool if he were ten years younger, but as it was… If she hadn’t already known that he was the one with a boring job in some dumb corporation, she’d never have guessed by looking at him now. In his heavy boots, black shirt and very precise eyeliner he wouldn’t have looked out of place in a rock club. Though she had a sneaking suspicion that he’d bitch about dirt and spilled drinks.

As the men reached them, Mr. Smith extended his hand. Mr. Ackerman just folded his arms over his chest and gave her a murderous look.

When Ymir paused in shaking his hand, Smith cleared his throat and gave her a warm smile. Even then, she felt as if she were being examined and weighed — though it didn’t seem as if he’d reached a verdict yet. “So you’re _the_ Ymir? It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Though Historia has talked about you so much, I feel as if we’ve already been acquainted.”

“Papa!” Historia’s blush spread from her cheeks to her ears.

Heartened by that, Ymir’s smile grew a little more genuine as she awkwardly accepted his hand. “Uh, yeah. That’s me I guess.” She was about to say something that would have _totally_ been charming, when she noticed movement in the sparse shadows near the fence. Her stalker was closing in, skirting the edges of her sight. For an instant, she considered bolting. It had already latched onto Mr. Ackerman earlier, but…not yet. She probably had a few minutes to try and salvage her first impression.

Ymir must have spaced out so long she looked like a dumbass, because Historia had to chime in, “Ymir’s pretty tired, so maybe we can go sit down? I begged her to come even though she had to work today.”

“Of course.” Mr. Smith gestured to a handful of unoccupied lawn chairs in a greener area of the yard.

The conversation took on the feel of an inquisition as soon as they sat. Mr. Ackerman looked like he was pretending to relax, but he wasn’t the greatest actor. “Yeah, you mentioned a shift. If you’re working, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for school.”

Before Ymir could answer, Historia rolled her eyes and said, “Oh please. I’ve been telling you for months that Ymir’s been helping me with my homework when you’re both ‘too tired’ or ‘don’t understand’.”

Mr. Ackerman’s eye twitched at that, but he didn’t back off. He muttered, “You don’t exactly look like valedictorian material.”

With a heavy sigh, Mr. Smith looked to his husband with fond annoyance. “Levi, that’s an unfair assessment. You of all people should know better.”

Mr. Ackerman clicked his tongue, scrunching his nose briefly, but didn’t answer. He was still glaring at Ymir as if she were going to kidnap his precious daughter right out from under him.

While Dad One had already formed his opinion, Dad Two was still working on his. Ymir turned to him as he asked, “So what is it you like doing? Any classes in particular?”

“Well, I play guitar,” she offered. “I’m not in the school band or anything though.”

“Typical,” Levi scoffed quietly. Behind his back shadows were starting to form into a more tangible shape, and Ymir knew the party was over. It wouldn’t be visible to most eyes, but she had to book it before something bad happened, or worse, that thing decided to _stay_.

“Oh my god! I…uh… I just remembered I have…an assignment to finish for tomorrow.” It was a pathetic excuse, and she knew Historia wouldn’t buy it for even a second. “So I guess I have to run home. Sorry, man. I’ve been such a space case the past few days.”

“But you just got here…” Historia’s hurt was palpable, like a knife to the heart.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, but I _really_ have to go.” She prayed that Historia would understand the urgency.

And because her friend was damn near perfect, the hurt faded to be replaced by concern even though Historia didn’t know what was up, nor would Ymir ever tell her. Historia nodded slowly. “Okay… Please text me when you get home. I want to know you made it back alright.”

Ymir just about kissed her, but instead settled for messing up her hair. “Count on it.” She quickly looked to the dads and said, “Nice meeting you. Sorry I have to run — bye!”

Before she could change her mind, Ymir jogged through the crowd toward the fence’s gate. She left behind the bright garden full of friendly chatter and stepped back into the dark, empty street.

Thankfully, it followed. Ymir couldn’t resist giving it the middle finger.

###

“That was rather…odd,” Erwin observed as he looked at the path Ymir had disappeared from. He turned then to Historia and Levi. His daughter was staring after her friend with a forlorn expression before she clenched her jaw and glared.

“You scared her off. Again! You promised you’d behave this time.”

Levi sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a tired expression. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I tried.”

“Oh—as if! ‘ _You don’t exactly look like valedictorian material_ ’? What the hell was that?” She didn’t wait for an answer, and stomped back into the house, fuming.

Erwin debated following her, but decided it would be better if she cooled off. Instead, he shifted in his chair to look at Levi. His husband was glaring at the ground as if it had personally offended him.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he grumbled. “I fucked up.”

Erwin’s smile was tight as he threw an arm around Levi’s shoulders. “If you think that, then we’ll have her over for dinner and apologize. This is a problem that’s easy to fix. Besides, you tried much harder than last time.”

“Not hard enough, it seems,” Levi’s reply was muffled as he pushed Erwin’s arm away. He frowned at their guests chatting happily on the patio; they were completely oblivious to the family drama. “Well, fuck it. We still have these shitheads to entertain. Go talk to them about rocks or some shit. I’ll be there in a second.”

Erwin rose from his chair and took only a single step. Levi glanced up at him in confusion. There was that ‘look’ on Erwin’s face as he mused, “You know… I’m not so sure it _was_ you. I think that girl has other things on her mind.” He smiled down at Levi. “In fact, I’m fairly certain it wasn’t you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pants: Lengthy time between chapters is entirely my fault. Always blame me.  
> Terry: Again, we promised nothing!

As soon as she was safe inside her apartment, Ymir leaned against the closed door in relief. For a brief minute, she allowed her mind to go completely blank. No worries about what had happened, or what _could_ happen. She kicked off her boots, missing the shoe tray by a large margin. When her feet touched the floor, she felt reality pressing in and reminding her to pull out her phone and send Historia a text.  
  
_I died on the way home_ Dx  
_Was nice knowing u_  
  
Humour with a sense of tact—no one would accuse Ymir of having that. She leaned against the wall, pulling her socks off before throwing them in the general direction of the bedroom. She then sauntered toward the tiny fridge.  
  
Pulling the door open, she examined the barren insides while soaking in the chill. The light inside flickered, casting shadows around the shoebox apartment the government helped her rent. Foster care hadn’t really worked out. Some kids at school thought that it was cool she had her own place despite only being seventeen. They were idiots. Well, at least she managed to gobble a hamburger before she was forced to left.  
  
Ymir drummed her fingers along the top of the door, staring but not really seeing. She felt it—the echo—sidling down the hall. She could practically see it seeping through the hallway’s corners beneath that dingy hall light. Like smoke and shadow, it would peer through the crack under the door to taste those on the other side. Luckily, most of Ymir’s neighbours were pretty stable folks. So in the end it would always come back to her.  
  
Grabbing a water bottle at random, Ymir kicked the fridge door shut just as the echo crept its way into her apartment. The window blinds striped the room in hazy slashes of light and shade. It cringed away, oozing only in the narrow, dark bars.  
  
Ymir took a swig from the bottle, and then shrugged. She’d been followed by these things a while…years. She still had no idea what the hell they actually were. What Ymir did know, was that no matter how much they could torment those around her, they couldn’t do a thing to her. Well…other than give her goosebumps.  
  
In the quiet, the buzz of her phone was loud enough she jumped and nearly dropped the bottle. Fumbling with it, she managed to avert a complete spill. Sighing in relief, Ymir then grabbed her phone and saw Historia was calling. Maybe she hadn’t liked the joke…?  
  
“Hi. Still alive. Big surprise, I know.”  
  
“The biggest.” Ymir could hear the eye roll in Historia’s tone. “Listen… I just wanted to say sorry. About my dad that is. He’s an asshole, but I don’t think he meant anything by it. He just can’t help it sometimes.”  
  
Ymir rubbed a hand across her lips, wiping away trace drops of water while she tried to find the flow of the conversation. She’d been way more worried about the gathering shadows than anything the man had been saying. Honestly, it might have even been funny in another situation, but at least it gave her a plausible explanation for the sudden departure.  
  
“Ymir? You’re spacing out again.”  
  
Ymir realized she’d taken too long to answer—again. Historia was probably going to start thinking she was a complete space case. “Uh, yeah. He was a total dick,” she replied, and then scrambled for something to add. “I wasn’t really in the mood to deal with that. I guess I could have been a little less obvious?”  
  
“A little,” Historia admitted. “But it’s okay. You ran off fast enough that I got to yell at him. And because I’m right, he couldn’t even scold me. It felt so good.”  
  
Biting down on her bottom lip in glee, Ymir said, “You’re evil.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
They talked for over an hour, until the spell was broken by Ymir’s huge yawn. She stretched, letting the phone rest on the bed beside her as Historia said, “Oh my god. Is it really past eleven?”  
  
“Looks like. Hope you don’t mind if I say good night. I have to get up early for work.”  
  
“Of course not. Though…”  
  
Ymir waited, staring at her phone as the silence stretched into awkward territory. She sighed. “Though what?”  
  
She could _hear_ the embarrassment in Historia’s reply. “You were telling me about the new song you’re learning and I forgot to ask you to play it for me. Sorry.”  
  
“Why are you sorry for _that_?” Ymir scoffed and stretched her foot to drag her guitar case closer. “I’ll just play it right now. It’ll be like I’m serenading you.”  
  
“But your neighbours—”  
  
“Haven’t told me to shut up yet. I’ll be quiet, I promise.” Though Ymir didn’t really care. Judging by the sounds coming from the people next door, they weren’t really in the mood for sleeping at the moment.  
  
When she pulled the beat-up, acoustic guitar from the case and strummed a chord, Ymir grimaced. It was just out of tune enough to grate on her hearing. Thankfully, Historia wouldn’t notice. She had a horrible ear when it came to music.  
  
Sitting cross legged on her bed, she switched her phone to speaker mode and said, “You ready?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“Alright, then…”  
  
Ymir kept her eyes closed as she played, imagining the two of them were in the same room and not half a city apart. She screwed up a couple times, but when she finished, Historia was exactly as effusive in her praise as if Ymir had given a perfect concert.  
  
“You’re _amazing_! I can’t wait to hear it in person!”  
  
“That can be arranged you know. Next time we meet up I’ll bring it.”  
  
Historia paused, and then said in a voice filled with warmth, “Good night then.”  
  
“Hope you get the chance to yell at your dad again.”  
  
“Good _night_.” Historia laughed.  
  
“Night.”  
  
Ymir hung up, and then stared blissfully at the screen. She shouldn’t have said she had work tomorrow. They could have talked until dawn and that would have kept her going better than sleep ever could. Then again… Ymir’s eyelids had grown so heavy, even her growling stomach didn’t seem like such a big deal despite the fact she hadn’t eaten since noon.  
  
She wondered if she should just fall asleep as is, and then forced herself up with a huge groan. Ymir knew she’d feel like hot garbage in the morning if she didn’t at least brush her teeth. After she put her guitar away with another yawn, she finally noticed the difference in the air.  
  
The echo was gone.  
  
More awake than she’d been a moment earlier, Ymir frowned and peeked into the kitchen area. She couldn’t feel it anywhere. Wherever it was, it had decided to leave her alone. It had been a lot quicker than usual. Most times it would take a week or more to get an echo to piss off.  
  
Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ymir washed for bed and tried not to think too hard about it. If she questioned her luck, it would probably summon more of them.  
  
Somehow.  
  
###

First thing in the morning, Levi set out to apologize. Erwin might claim that the incident with Ymir wasn’t his fault, but Levi knew better. It was always his fault. He took out the pan and ingredients for the waffles, wincing slightly. He didn’t approve of sugary breakfasts, but since Historia inherited her sweet tooth from Erwin, that seemed to be the best way to show her he was sorry. One would think that a guy of his age would finally learn to manage his assholery a bit. He guessed he was a lost case.  
  
As soon as the first portion was laid on the plate he heard his daughter entering the kitchen.  
  
“You’re even grumpier than usual _and_ you’re making fucking waffles,” she observed, pouring herself juice.  
  
“Historia, language,” he reminded her, setting the plate on the table along with whipped cream and a bowl of fruit. He wanted to say more, but he didn’t even know how to start. It had been fifteen years and he still was shit at the ‘talks’. Why had he agreed to having a kid?  
  
His daughter snorted. “Have you ever heard yourself?”  
  
“Historia…” He just sighed, feeling too guilty to proceed with his usual scolding. Out the corner of his eye, he saw the teenager smirking over the plate as she loaded a mountain of whipped cream on the waffle. She was testing him and his boundaries… And he was going to let her get away with it.  
  
Levi swallowed the reprimand and poured more of the batter in the pan. Erwin would pout if he didn’t get a stack, and he had been summoned by the smell. The blond oaf entered the kitchen, yawning and stretching.  
  
“A guilt breakfast,” he commented, bending over Levi to kiss the top of his head. “You’ve been beating yourself up the whole night, haven’t you?”  
  
Levi didn’t dignify that remark with an answer, closing the pan with force and sending his husband a deadly glare.  
  
Erwin just chuckled, turning to the coffee machine and starting the kettle for Levi’s tea. He shuffled through the cabinet and took out the two cans of tea, looking at Levi questioningly.  
  
“Lapsang or that Nepali one?” He asked, presenting the cans to his husband. Levi slid the food to the plate, not even glancing at the teas.  
  
“Nepali. Lapsang’s too heavy for breakfast,” he answered, setting the plate on the table and opening the fridge to find some food for himself. Like hell was he going to eat the damn waffles. He eventually settled on toast, and began to butter the bread while asking stiffly, “Did you hear from Ymir last night, sweetheart?”  
  
“As a matter of fact, I did,” Historia retorted—a little too tartly.  
  
“Darling, that’s enough,” Erwin cut in, speaking in his ‘serious’ voice. “You know dad is sorry. Just let him apologize so we can have a nice morning together. They’re rare enough as it is.”  
  
Levi clenched his jaw, listening to them while he waited for the water to boil. He was getting tired of the attitude when he was pretty obviously making a sincere effort. But his calm didn’t break until she went a step too far.  
  
“And whose fault is that, papa? You’re the one always too damn—”  
  
“Enough,” Levi snapped. He turned around, his face blank. “You’re going to watch your shitty language and start treating the two of us with some respect.”  
  
Out the corner of his eye, Levi watched Erwin hide a grin behind a mouthful of waffle. He kept the bulk of his focus on Historia, and when she opened her mouth to argue he held up a hand. “Yeah, I fucked up. I apologized and we’re moving on. Got it?”  
  
Historia had a practiced pout she’d picked up from Erwin. It had taken Levi years, but he’d finally figured out how not to fall victim to it. They stared at each other, neither admitting any fault while the kettle began to whistle.  
  
It didn’t break the tension, but the sound of Erwin clearing his throat did. “Actually, your dad has one more little olive branch to extend.”  
  
“He does?” Historia’s gaze softened with curiosity as she looked between them. “What kind of olive branch?”  
  
For a long moment, Levi had no idea what Erwin was talking about. But after meeting his eyes, their conversation from last night came back to him. Suppressing a groan, Levi nodded. “Right… We—I was thinking, we’ll invite Ymir here. I’ll make her dinner as an apology. Will that make you happy?”  
  
In a flash, Historia’s face turned from sulky to joyful. She pushed back from her chair and wrapped him in a quick, tight hug. “Yes. Thank you—yes!”  
  
A little awkwardly, Levi ruffled her hair and pulled back toward the shrieking tea kettle. He turned to deal with that, and most of the sharpness seemed to have fled from the room. When he sat at the table, mug in hand, Historia’s too innocent question caused him to snort.  
  
“Can I go watch TV and eat in the living room?”  
  
“Not a fucking chance. You’re not getting any whipped cream on my leather couches.”  
  
She shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”  
  
###

Historia stepped off the bus, adjusting the strap of her purse over her shoulder as she headed towards the mall. The noon sun was sharp and hot, making it a relief when she crossed into the shadows of the parkade before stepping inside.  
  
During the weekend, the mall was always absolute chaos. Keeping her pace brisk, Historia manoeuvred her tiny frame through the dense crowds with the ease of long practice. When she neared the food court, she opened the clock pendant around her neck and saw she still had fifteen minutes before Ymir’s lunch break. Perfect.  
  
She had just enough time to grab them both smoothies and then position herself outside the game store Ymir worked at. Sitting on a nearby bench, Historia used her phone’s camera to fix her hair and makeup, glancing over to the entrance in case Ymir caught her in the act.  
  
Usually it was easy to tell what people wanted from her: a cute daughter, a cheerful student, a doting friend—but Ymir was different. Historia had no clue what Ymir wanted her to be, and that was both thrilling and nerve-wracking. She couldn’t think of any past relationship where the other person didn’t seem to expect anything other than her company.  
  
Ymir appeared at last, waving to a coworker as she strode into the rush. She stretched, and when she opened her eyes they landed on Historia. With a smile, Historia held up the smoothies and waited.  
  
Bemused, Ymir ducked through the flow of people and slid onto the bench. “Hey, what are you doing here?”  
  
“I had to buy some stuff for that social studies project and figured I’d stop by.” Half a lie. Historia had convinced herself that black poster board would be much better than the blue she already had.  
  
“ _Really_?” Ymir raised her eyebrows and leaned in to take a drink from a straw still in Historia’s hand. She wrinkled her nose. “Gross. That’s not mine.”  
  
“If you’d waited instead of being rude I would have given you the right one.” Historia passed over Ymir’s. “I’ll admit, I wanted to tell you something in person.”  
  
“Go on.”  
  
“The yelling worked.” Historia giggled from a combination of guilt and embarrassment at the memory both the scolding she’d given, and the one she’d received. “As a kind of apology, dad wants to invite you to dinner tomorrow. Or anytime that works best for you.”  
  
Sucking on her drink in consideration, Ymir seemed to consider. “I don’t know… I’ll have to think about it. Check my schedule y’know?”  
  
“Stop being a tease. I know you’re not doing anything.”  
  
“But I love teasing you,” Ymir blew her a kiss.  
  
Historia’s chest felt tight as her thoughts drifted down a different route. She took a drink to give herself an excuse to swallow her feelings. She told herself that was just the way Ymir was with people she liked. It was no different than the usual pseudo-flirting Historia’s other friends did. Though she really wished it wasn’t.  
  
After she was done chuckling, Ymir relented, ““Okay, I _might_ be able to squeeze dinner into my schedule.”  
  
Emotions under control, Historia nodded. “That’s what I thought. And even though it’s for an apology, he might still be…”  
  
“A colossal douchebag. Don’t worry, I get that.”  
  
“Well, if he is, we might be able to guilt more meals out of him.” Historia was actually certain of that. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if dad misbehaved.  
  
Based on the look Ymir was giving her, she was also in agreement. “Now that’s a trend I can get behind. I’ll take anything he throws at me as long as I’m getting free food.”  
  
“If that’s what you’re after, then I’ll get him riled up for you.”  
  
“Cheers to that.”  
  
They tipped their cups together, in a mocking, private toast. Historia’s feelings fluttered as she memorized Ymir’s roguish grin  
  
###

The sun filtered through the windows, illuminating the low table in the living room. Levi scrunched his brows in displeasure. It seemed that Historia had forgotten about dusting yesterday. He was going to have to remind her that the fact she was angry with him didn’t mean she could ignore her assigned chores. She didn’t have many of them anyway, and their ongoing argument wasn’t a good enough reason to start living in a pigsty. Not that anything would be a good enough reason for _that_.  
  
He looked down at the document he was working on and decided he could wipe it after finishing — even though he’d decided to stay at home that Monday, given the apology dinner and the fact he’d been working grossly overtime for the past few weeks, he still had some things to finish due to his sudden absence. Eld, his assistant, was a capable guy, but he couldn’t manage Levi’s responsibilities, even with the help of the whole team. There were things that needed to be prepared and approved and while usually he’d done it before leaving, today’s day off was a spur of the moment decision.  
  
Fortunately, Eld took it in a stride, wishing him a nice day, asking if he was sure he didn’t want to take a longer break (which was tempting, but not something they could really afford right now) and then apologizing before sending him files he had to look over.  He didn’t complain, not even once, even though it considerately added to his workload — some of those things needed to be scanned, some had to be found and Levi felt a guilty, knowing that it probably would lengthen his assistant’s day. Eld was overdue for a raise.  
  
Levi closed the file and shot a quick e-mail to the HR department. It still had to be approved by at least two other members of the board, but it wouldn’t hurt to have the paperwork ready. He was debating whether he should start on the next document or take a break and wipe the table — the thin layer of dust was starting to get on his nerves — when the doorbell rang.  
  
Startled, he was glad he was alone at home, given the embarrassing display—he’d almost jumped and thrown the laptop from his lap. He adjusted the power cord that had gone loose with his sudden movement, and then placed the laptop on the coach. Standing up, Levi wondered who could be bothering him at this hour.  
  
It was a little too late for the mailman, the groceries for the evening weren’t due for at least three hours and he hadn’t plan for any guests — at least, not until evening. In his puzzlement he opened the door before looking, and it was a little too late before he realized what a mistake that was.  
  
The familiar face shadowed by a tattered bowler hat was literally the last one he’d expected, and also the least welcome. Though in his surprise, Levi couldn’t help but notice that the hat was older than he was — some part of him couldn’t believe it still existed.  
  
“What are you doing here, Kenny?” He asked icily, leaning in the doorway as the other man grinned.


End file.
